Former Senator Sam Nunn has a new gig. He's a Steering Committee memberfor the "Campaign to Fix The Debt," which is advocating for economy-killing austerity.

This week he appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box as a guest host. He was joined by fellow Campaign to Fix The Debt committee member David Cote, a billionaire CEO who has said he wants a zero percent corporate tax rate. Nunn laid out his case for cutting Social Security benefits by raising the retirement age:

COTE: When you recommend something like that you raise the retirement age by a year 75 years from now when my grandchildren will already be retired -- and the outcry begins -- say this is ridiculous [...]

NUNN: When we passed Social Security and we passed Medicare the life expectancy was somewhere in the mid-60's. Today the life expectancy is somewhere betwen 78 and 82, somewhere in that range. We basically haven't made the adjustment. You can't live with that!

The problem with Cote and Nunn's justification for raising the retirement age -- the idea that we're all living longer -- is that it simply isn't true. Life expectancy has shot up -- but only for white collar workers like lawyers. Life expectancy for blue collar workers has stayed fairly constant over the past few decades. Here's a chart from the Center for Economic and Policy Research demonstrating this inequality in life expectancy:

So if we were to raise the retirement age, we'd essentially be making janitors retire later because lawyers are living longer.

But why raise the retirement age at all, anyway? Social Security is completely unrelated to the debt, and the best way to preserve it for decades to come is to simply lift the payroll tax cap.

Leave a comment

OK, there are two things wring with this articel. First pointing out the the average is scewed because white collar workers live longer the blue collar. I believe that is what average means... Also, I am pretty sure that in the 30'3 there were both white collar and blue collar workers. It seems short sighted to say that now there is a difference in the life expectance and not acknowedge the same contrast when SS was formed. I contribute this to the author wanting to slant opinions.
Second, There seems to be a new cry by the left to raise the payroll cap. I understand the thought process, have the rich pay more, and give it to the less fortunate. You will say that it is unfair there is a cap on what is paid in. Why is it, when this is discussed, that there is never a discussion about the cap on what you receive? That's right, there is a cap on what you can pay in, and a cap on what you can take out. If you were to lift one, it would only be fair to lift the other. However, since doing this you would get a zero gain effect, the left wants to slant things and not give the full story.

Dear BKu,
Where and how did you learn English? Every one of your comments is filled with spelling and grammatical errors. I haven't mentioned it before because I was crediting you with "typos." However, you are much too consistent with your errors for this to be the cause.
More importantly, your thought processes are full of errors.
The reason "white collar" workers are living longer as opposed to "blue collar" workers is because they have access to better medical care than the "blue collars." Medical care in the 1930s (my parents' generation) was less advanced, and "white collars" generally died earlier than they do today because of less effective treatments. So, the average death age between the two groups was, indeed, much closer. It is a symptom of the inequality of access to proper medical care for the lower income groups that is reflected in the chart and causes the average "blue collar" to die sooner than the average "white collar" these days.
Raising the age of retirement is just another way to eliminate people from receiving Social Security by hoping that they will die before eligibility. Right now a majority of eligible people simply cannot retire because they cannot afford to live on Social Security and/or any other retirement benefits they may have (myself included in this number). Oddly, this fact applies to both the "white collars" and the "blue collars" who are working years longer. Were the retirement age lowered rather than raised, it might actually help the economy recover provided that retirees could sustain themselves without working because retirement of older employees allows the hiring of younger employees (currently unemployed) at lower wages.

I have been thinking about your comments, and think I have a solution. if each and every blue collar worker in the USA would simply call 202-456-1414, and ask the switchboard to transfer them to the oval office, I am sure they can get Obama to give them tuition to go back to school and then they too can become white collar employees. If he tries to claim there isn't enough money for this, don't buy it, we all know he can simply print some more........ Heck maybe I will try it so I can get out of paying student loans until I am 63.......
The point is, people make personal choices in life, employment, and such, live with those choices or change your stars.........

There are older Americans out here who have served in war and been left to support grown children who are way beyond ages to need it because those people in washington have been on a decades bait and switch trip with these poor people. Those who have little or no conscious and are nothing but greedy, self-serving bums are running this country. They have their money (ours) from cheating, lying and fooling the workers of this country. Those unions are hogging up every extra dime in the working world and that bum in the White House is making money off them is why he is upholding them and their crimes. That bum in the White house is nothing but a criminal in an expensive suit paid for by the taxpayers of this country. He is out to destroy not only the country but those who have had the work in the country on their back until they are old enough to retire. Now the politicians want to finish working them to death. These people should be put in prison for treason against the American people.

The fact is that WE HAVE BEEN PAYING social security for YEARS. I have been self employed and have paid 15% of my income, as opposed to 7.5% by employed people, for about 25 years. I have paid Social security for over 30 years. Why should I now have to pay for longer time? It is unfair enough that self empl0oyed people pay twice more. Now, they want me to continue paying longer time to satisfy the needs of the 1%?
The republicans don't see this, but when the government abuses the people, the people end up exploding against the government. This applies to everything, not just taxes. For example, Republicans comntinue arguing against global warming. Don't they realize that when people are starving because there was no snow in the winter, and there are droughts when the crops need the water, when the water starts rising, and all other signs confirm global warming, people will explode against those who caused the problem? Don't forget your history.

First off, let me say that I agre with you, it sucks that you will be more effected by this than the average person. That said, let me also say I admire you for being self employed, and in employing others. It is people like you that republicans want to reward with other tax cuts.
now that we have established the fact that I respect what you do, let me say that I too pay 15% into SS. your statement about my paying on 7.5% is wraond, my employer pays the other 7.5%. That is money that he could be spending on raises, or health insurance, or research, all thisngs that would enhance my life, but he can't because SS needs 15% from me.
Second How does your paying longer satisfy the needs of the 1%. These people pay in just the same as you, and many never take a dime out. additionally they can not take out any more than you can as SS has a cap on what can be withdrawn....
Again, I am sorry you are personally more effected by this than most, but I point out a famous quote by one of the most famous democrats of all time; "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country"
It seems that democrats have lost sight of this.

BKU is likely a paid blogger. Fix-the-debt has hired many "anti-bloggers".
Social security has not contributed one cent to the deficit, why is it part of the "solution"? I'll nerer get back all the money paid into my SS account. That is not what SS was created to accomplish. It is a safety net,to prevent the disabled and elderly from starving on the street. Screw these billionares,that aren't paying any income taxes anyway. Honeywell's rate -0.7%, GE also no taxes, Goldman Sachs(bail-out money) hhuge refund and CEO pay!

I just read today that France wants to tax the extremely wealthy at a 75% tax rate. I think we should do the same thing here and these greedy bastards would really have to go to work and die off earlier.

Raise the retirement age because lawyers are living longer? I know some people who can fix that! They all look through these funny glass tubes that make things look a LOT closer, and they have these noisy things that spit stuff a looooonng way. Maybe they can do something like that every time a lawyer brings something stupid to a courthouse.

They want people to die so they will not have to draw Social Security. These are the same people who have carried this country and the lazy for years. The ones who are proposting the raising of age have no conscious and they know people who work in factories are about worked to death long before what they retuire, anyway. Most of them have poor health on top of it They do not want the ones who earned the money to pay for this country to live and have any rest. Those loud mouth politicians have no idea what work is, just like Obama and his sorry azzed community organizing and being put into the White House when he is not even eligible to be there. None of them deserve to live off the people as they are doing.

The people who have worked for years get nothing in return for their hard work and labor. That stupid man playing President is letting immigrants come into this country who are drawing all kinds of benefits off the backs of the American people and sucking up the Social Security benefits. Get rid of that man in the White House and put some decent people in charge of this country.

I see people workin even now-a-days who are too old to be working so they can pay for those Obamas to go on millions of dollars vacation. Those sorry azzed people have some nerve asking the already worked to death Americans to support his pet projects and those people who come in here to this country playing like they deserve to be treated like citizens. You try going to their country and drawing anything but a prison sentence. That bunch in the White House are doing nothing but destroying this country.

Your parents and grandparents have given everything they have and now you are wanting their retirement and their lives. Those of you who are trying to keep sucking off these elderly people are worse than any humans on face of this earth. You cowards get yourselves a real job and get out of the business of telling others how to live and hiring on people too lazy to suck air. You are hiring people in Washington who are of your mindset regardless of their expertise or skills or this country would not be in the mess it is. You are nothing but blood suckers.

Why should the American people pay for people to come into this country and use up the resources? We owe them nothing and they would not pay for use in their countries. That bum in the White House is nothing but a blood sucking bat in a suit. Those Congressmen who sit up there and work on their azzes about two days a week just to show up after their aids have done all the work are as useless as an extra thumb.

SHARE YOUR SKILLS

Paid for by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee PAC (BoldProgressives.org) and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Contributions to the PCCC are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.